Jason Momoa's Favorite Hawaiian Foods Are Must-Eats On Your Next Visit To The Islands

When Aquaman himself recommends a Hawaiian dish with raw fish in it, you know you've got to try it. Poke made with ahi (yellowfin tuna) is just one of the dishes actor Jason Momoa introduced in his personal guide to Hawaii for Condé Nast Traveler in December 2023. At the time, Momoa was promoting the movie, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," where he plays the title role of a superhero who can talk to fish. However, with the release of his Max docuseries "On the Roam" in January 2024, Momo joined the ranks of actors and comedians turned travel hosts alongside Stanley Tucci, Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Conan O'Brien, and others.

What gives Momoa a special connection to Hawaii is that it's his birthplace. He was born on the island of Oahu in the state capital, Honolulu, and he later attended college there at the University of Hawaii before landing a role on "Baywatch." This gives him a local perspective on Hawaiian cuisine, which even makes U.S. airline food stand out when done right.

In his guide to Hawaii, Momoa acknowledged that poke "can be [done] many different ways." His bowl mixed ahi with spring onion, white onion, and nori (seaweed). For poke in Honolulu, you can dine on five different types of ahi and three different types of tako (octopus) bowls at Ono Seafood. This popular restaurant draws long lines, so be prepared to wait. Aside from poke, however, Momoa's favorite Hawaiian foods feature more meat than fish.

The first food Momoa introduced in his guide to Hawaii was loco moco, a hamburger and rice dish topped with gravy and an egg sunny-side up. Loco moco is thought to be a post-war culinary invention; Hilo's Cafe 100— in business since 1946 — is one of the first restaurants credited with serving it. It's also a bestselling menu item at the original Liliha Bakery in Honolulu, which opened in 1950.

Known for its coco puffs, the bakery is named for the same chiefess and Oahu governor as the nearby Liliha Street and Liliha Drive Inn. The latter (along with the original L&L Hawaiian Barbeque on Liliha Street) is sometimes cited among the best options for Momoa's next pick — breaded chicken katsu. The actor himself has been known to dine at the local chain Zippy's, another good stop for chicken katsu.

Despite adopting a pet pig, Momoa has no compunctions about feasting on kalua pig. In fact, he reserved his highest praise for this dish, calling it his "favorite Hawaiian food, to cook it in the earth." He added, "It's like slow-roasted pork. And then we do lau lau, so we wrap it in ti leaf. It's got the leaf of the kalo in there, too. So, almost like a very bitter spinach, with the pork and the pork fat that melts into that. And it's ono." For some kalua pork that's very "ono" (delicious) indeed, head to Helena's Hawaiian Food in Honolulu.

Momoa called spam musubi a Hawaiian "staple," explaining that it's "rice and nori wrapped around fried spam." Spam musubi is similar to the Japanese dish onigiri (rice balls), and some of the best shops for it on Oahu have Japanese names and menus. This includes Higoto Japanese Eatery, located in the Kaimuki neighborhood of Honolulu, and Komedokoro M's, situated close by in the beautiful Hawaii beach destination of Waikiki.

Malasada went largely unexplained by Momoa, who only said he has a friend nicknamed after this pastry dish. It's a kind of Hawaiian donut you can get at bakeries like Leonard's and Pipeline in Honolulu. The word "malasada" is Portuguese — it means "badly baked" — and it came to Hawaii via immigrants in the late 19th century. Elsewhere (in People), Momoa named Portugese sausage, macaroni salad, and poi as some of his favorite breakfast eats when he's in Hawaii.

While a canned drink you can buy at 7-Eleven and Wal-Mart might seem like a souvenir you should skip in Hawaii, Momoa told Condé Nast Traveler that the tropical fruit juice brand Hawaiian Sun is "really special" to him. "Hawaiian Sun, for me, it reminds me of my childhood," he explained. "It's the only thing I drink that's like soda or weird or pop or anything like that stuff." He cracked open a can of Pass-O-Guava, but it's just one of the brand's many flavors, all of which are made in Hawaii.